


I'll Be Home For Christmas

by HestiaOlympus



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: F/M, winterprincess
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-29
Updated: 2019-12-29
Packaged: 2021-02-27 03:40:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,226
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22010437
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HestiaOlympus/pseuds/HestiaOlympus
Summary: Bucky arrives home from a mission Christmas Eve to a surprise.Part of the Winterprincess 2019 fic exchange.Prompt: hella fluffy fic where one of them comes home from a mission or something to a super haphazardly thrown-together holiday-for-two that's so obviously lame, but definitely the thought that counts, y'know?
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Shuri
Comments: 5
Kudos: 27





	I'll Be Home For Christmas

**Author's Note:**

  * For [MarvelousMusings](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MarvelousMusings/gifts).



Bucky was exhausted. Even though it was the Christmas season, it didn't mean that the ne'er do wells of the world took the time off. If anything, they doubled down during the holiday season, for whatever reason. All Bucky wanted to do was crawl into bed and sleep for a day. Dimly in the back of his mind he felt like there was something about the day he was forgetting, but for the life of him couldn't think of what it was.

The jet finally landed in the field next to his hut. Bucky gave the pilot a quick salute and thanks, then started trudging over to the hut entrance. Everything seemed just the way he'd left it, but for some reason Bucky couldn't help but feel like his place had been disturbed. He opened the cabinet and put his hand on the biometric scanner. Wakandan homes outside the camouflage shield were built underground with the entrance inside the huts. As soon as the panel on the floor slid open, Bucky drew his gun. The smell greeting him was not the usual smell of his home. Someone was in there. 

He slowly descended the stairs, gun at the ready. As he went down, the smell registered in his mind. It was....fruitcake? Not the nasty disgrace of a fruitcake he smelled at a store in the states recently, but an honest to goodness homecooked properly done fruitcake. The smell finally processed enough for him to realize there was music playing as well. Not just any music, Bing Crosby's original recording of "I'll be home for Christmas" on a record player. People said you couldn't tell the difference, but Bucky absolutely could. Maybe it was the serum, or maybe it was just growing up with one and getting thrown into the world of digital audio. Either way, Bucky holstered the gun and continued to walk slowly down the stairs. 

What he saw when he got to the bottom froze him in his tracks. Bucky's whole home had been turned into a Christmas wonderland of years past. It felt like stepping back in time to his last Christmas at home with his family, but also different. The decorations were all very handmade and from his time. However, they couldn't quite hide the sleek modernness of Wakandan furniture and interior design. To complete the picture, the creator of this wonderland stood at the stove stirring something in a pot. Shuri was wearing a deep red dress that was clearly designed after a holiday dress from the forties, but not a genuine article. She looked up and jumped slightly when she saw Bucky standing at the foot of the stairs.

"I didn't here you come in," she said softly. Slowly, and a little dazedly, Bucky walked over towards her, still taking in the Christmas around him. 

"What's all this?" he asked hoarsely. Shuri turned her attention back to the stove and stared very intently at whatever she was stirring. 

"It's Christmas," she nearly mumbled. Except Shuri didn't mumble, so that couldn't have been what Bucky heard. Shuri plowed on, "It's Christmas Eve and I wanted your first Christmas Eve back to be special. I wanted it to be.....a taste of home." 

Bucky was stunned. He couldn't remember the last time someone had done such a kind, selfless, thoughtful act for him since he'd been back. Shuri cared enough about him to go trough all this work, put all this together, just for him? Not only had she given him Christmas, she'd given him the perfect kind of Christmas. It felt like home, but not so much so that it was painful or hurt. The familiar and the new were seamlessly blended together to make him feel completely comfortable. It was incredible.

Bucky didn't think he could fully express his gratitude with words. He walked over to Shuri and hugged her from behind, resting his chin on her shoulder, hoping it conveyed everything he wanted it to. "Thank you Shuri," he whispered, "words cannot express how much this means to me."

He felt Shuri nod, then she said lightly, "You could start expressing your gratitude by taking a shower and changing. You smell worse than the goats." Bucky smiled softly and headed back to the bathroom. Digging through his clothes he managed to find a pair of black slacks and a red sweater. After his shower, Bucky took a bit more time than normal getting ready. He actually trimmed his beard neatly and combed out his hair. Most of the time after missions he just left it all down or pulled it all up. Bucky remembered Shuri complimenting a half up bun he'd done, so he quickly pulled up his hair into that style. 

Before going back out into the main room, Bucky took another look at himself in the mirror. It was odd to care about his appearance. It had been so long the feeling felt foreign to him. His stomach felt odd as well. Bucky stood there in front of the mirror staring at himself a moment longer when he suddenly realized what the feeling in his stomach was.

Nerves. 

After so many years of life threatening missions, they didn't affect him anymore. Missions were really all Bucky had known for most of his recent memories that he no longer felt nervousness or any other emotion really when it came to them. For some reason though, walking out into his own living space had him feeling nervous. Bucky had an idea that the nerves were because of the lovely woman in his kitchen and the amount of care and tenderness she had shown him tonight. Well, best to bite the bullet. Bucky walked back out of his bedroom.

As he walked out, Shuri looked up at the sound of the door opening. When she saw Bucky her eyes widened slightly and she paused her work. Bucky looked down at himself, worried, that he had somehow done something wrong dressing himself. Maybe this wasn't fashionable for the times? Maybe it was the wrong clothes put together? He asked Shuri, 

"Is there something wrong with what I'm wearing?"

She shook her head, "No, it's just that I've never seen you wearing clothes like that. It's very different."

Bucky shifted from one foot to the other, still uncertain. "Different in what way?" he asked.

"A good way."

Reassured, Bucky smiled softly at her. Shuri's cheeks seemed to darken slightly, although it had to be the light. She motioned for Bucky to sit down. 

Dinner felt like a taste of home. Everything was delicious and brought with it slews of pleasant memories. After the meal had been finished and the dishes cleared away, Shuri showed him a stack of old Christmas movies to choose from for them to watch. He pulled Holiday Inn out of the stack. Shuri got it loaded up, and they settled onto the couch to watch it. Partway through, she rested her head against Bucky's shoulder. His stomach fluttered something fierce and startled him so much he almost jumped off the couch. However, Bucky managed to maintain his composure. Slowly, carefully, he put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her towards him ever so gently. Shuri snuggled into his side, and they continued to watch the movie.

This was better than any Christmas Bucky had dreamed of.


End file.
